History
The design was first conceived by Yoshikazu Akahane at Suwa Seikosha (currently Seiko Epson) in 1977, and patents were applied for in 1982. The movement was announced publicly in 1997, presented at the 1998 Basel Watch Fair and first appeared commercially in the Credor 'luxury watch' range as a limited edition in 1999. A version which included an automatic winder was shown in Seiko models at the 2005 Basel Watch Fair. The internationally available Seiko models were officially launched at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris on September 14, and went on sale the following day.
Swatch's research company ASULAB has developed a conceptually similar movement called the High Precision Mechanics movement. . Several proof of concept prototypes based on the ETA 2824 caliber were produced in the late 1990s.
Seiko's efforts with the Spring Drive predates ASULAB's HPM, since Spring Drive watches were already on sale in 1999.
Read more about this topic: Spring Drive
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